Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson has been fined $5,000 by the AFL for criticising an umpire following his side's 11-point loss to Geelong last Friday night.

Clarkson made a thinly-veiled criticism of umpire Justin Schmitt, who wore No.17 on his shirt, when asked about the umpiring.

"He's a good player that No.17, wasn't he? He's a ripper," Clarkson said.

AFL acting football operations manager Jill Lindsay said Clarkson had breached regulation 16.1, which prohibits public comments on umpires.

"Regulations such as these exist because of the need for the AFL competition to set a positive example on conduct towards umpires," she said.

Clarkson's fine angered Hawks president Jeff Kennett, who said the penalty had the potential to over-sanitise the game.

"I am absolutely astonished, I saw Clarko's comments and he said it with a great grin all over his face," Kennett told the Nine Network.

"I can only suspect that if we're not careful that we are going to end up with a very antiseptic game."

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